Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2022 December 30 • Friday

Let's end on a high, shall we? One of the many presents we gave to ourselves was Omni Music Publishing's full score book of James Horner's soundtrack for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

This is favorite music for a favorite movie and I found myself getting drawn into it, lulled into the most pleasant of trances, just gazing at the notes on the page.

Even as I was holding it in my hands I wanted to buy it again.

You can buy your own right here!

And that's it for 2022. See you next year!

2022 December 28 • Wednesday

What's the best record to put on for opening Christmas presents? Well, it's only a 45 but it's definitely The Surfrajettes' latest release, "Marshmallow March" b/w "All I Want for Christmas".

And of course it's on green/marshmallow splatter vinyl!

"Marshmallow March" is a great original tune, very classic early-'60s surf and instrumental rock sound.

And then the flipside is their cover of the Mariah Carey song that everyone has heard a million times. Their arrangement of it is terrific, though, with the guitar playing the melody in a lower register and giving it a completely different feel.

We're looking forward to more from this great band in 2023!

2022 December 26 • Monday

'Tis the season: the 758th Soundtrack of the Week is Carl Zittrer's score for Black Christmas.

It's on whatever kind of vinyl this is!

It seems that the original tapes aren't around so what you get on this release is music with sounds from the film: dialogue, sound effects, etc.

The presentation is divided into two side-length tracks, "Silent Night" on Side A and "Evil Night" on Side B.

The A side does indeed begin with a choral performance of "Silent Night" before moving into creepier territory, atmospheric vibes, homicidal mutterings, sounds of wind and heavy breathing, more Christmas songs, etc. Without the Christmas-specific content it would sound a lot like a Halloween record.

The B side starts with an agitated and energetic solo piano track that occupies the border between modern classical and free jazz.

Strings come in with some somber long tones accompanied by chattering voices. Then more sound effects: someone being violently murdered, it would seem. Lots of screaming and sound of things breaking.

Christmas carols come back in too, just so you won't forget what holiday it is.

Probably few people would thank you for throwing this on the turntable while decorating the tree. Over here at Gutbrain Headquarters, playing this record actually cleared the room. Which is not always a bad thing!

2022 December 23 • Friday

Television director Marvin Chomsky passed away last March. One of his more unusual assignments was a TV-movie adaptation of E. Richard Johnson's book Mongo's Back in Town, which we mentioned just the other day.

As you can see, it stars Joe Don Baker. He gets the title role of Mongo.

But what a cast! We're turning on the "Fasten Seatbelts" sign…

Telly Savalas and Martin Sheen.

Sally Field.

Anne Francis.

Angelo Rossito.

This movie isn't exactly a classic but it wasn't hard to watch either. It's surprisingly faithful to the book, deferring to broadcast televison's standards and practices by having the rather large portions of sex and violence happen off screen.

If you've read the book you know exactly what happens that you don't see. If you haven't read the book, you probably won't get the full picture of sadism and depravity.

The movie also tidies up the book a little bit by collapsing the federal agent character into the local cop character, played by Telly Savalas. Like Kojak, he's a Lieutenant.

The sordid and grim atmosphere of the book is successfully transplanted to the movie version, which uses gritty and grimy locations to good effect.

At time of writing, this is watchable on YouTube, from what appears to be a videotape recording of a Million Dollar Movie presentation from Philadelphia's WPVI TV station.

If only it included the original commercials from whenever that was!

2022 December 21 • Wednesday

"Violence, raw sex and brutal pay-off". You guessed it, it's a Christmas novel! The book in question is E. Richard Johnson's Mongo's Back in Town.

Sure, it's a sleazy violent crime novel, relentlessly sour, downbeat and fatalistic, but it's also wall-to-wall Christmas. If this time of the year gets you down, prepare to discover some new depths!

(As an aside, while we would never begrudge Die Hard its Christmas-movie status, it should not come at the expense of overlooking the much more Christmasy Invasion U.S.A. and A Force of One.)

This precedes Jack's Return Home, better known as Get Carter, but has a similar if inverted premise. Mongo returns to his crappy hometown after spending years becoming a fearsome hired killer, but instead of avenging his brother's death he's there because his brother has hired him to kill someone.

Of course the last time Mongo saw his brother, Mike, it was to get double crossed by him and to have Angel, his girlfriend (too polite a word for this book), leave Mongo for Mike. So as long as he's in town, Mongo is more motivated by an attempt to get back at both of these people than to do their bidding. This time Mongo will be looking out for the frame.

Consider the brothers' reunion:

Like Szabo's Arcade, the bar had remained the same. It had the same worn tile floor, and nicked bar. The mirror on the left of the cash register had the same crack across its face, and the lighting in the place matched the smell of sour booze and sweat which was topped off by the bitter smell of urine from the toilets in back.

He took a deep breath and smiled. He was home. His lips thinned slightly as he let the door slam and watched Mike look up from the paper he was reading.

It had been six years.

"You took your goddamn time getting here," Mike said.

Mongo smiled as he started across the room to the bar. He thought about Angel and that old screwing; he'd thought about that a lot in six years. And the nice part of it now was that Mike needed him.

He was still smiling when he reached the bar. "Merry Christmas, Mike," he said, and broke Mike's nose with the barrel of his .38.

'Tis the season!

Also in town is an FBI agent tracking down some counterfeiters and stolen treasury plates.

Regardless of Santa Claus outfit or seasonal decorations, almost everyone in the book is a crook, a cop, a drug addict, a sadist, a murderer, prostitue, etc.

It's relentlessly grim and morbid tone is more impressive than monotonous and it's actually nastier in parts than I wanted it to be.

I'll definitely check out other titles by the same author.

The first line is "The city was wrapped in its Christmas finery on the day that he stepped off the bus at the station on the corner of Fifty-first Street an Floyd in the lower north side".

2022 December 19 • Monday

The 757th Soundtrack of the Week is the music from Winter Equinox. Whose score is this? Good question. The music is "directed and produced by Dennis Dragon" but it seems that all of it (except perhaps for one track), is composed and performed by other people.

First up is "Ballad of Snowshoe Thompson I", composed and performed by Chris Darrow and I. Balz. It's about a minute long, leisurely banjo and harmonica duet.

Chris Darrow and I. Balz also composed and performed the next piece, "Powder Burn", a driving blues rock number with amplified violin.

Next up is "Indian Chance", a short track of tribal percussion and vocals composed and performed by Steve Olitzky.

"Mogul Monster", composed and performed by Richard Henn, is pure '70s disco funk rhythms with wah-wah guitar, strings and flute. It would fit right in with an episode of CHiPS probably and has a wailing acid rock guitar solo as well as a keyboard solo that has an unusual sonority.

Toulouse Engelhardt composed and performed the next piece, "Too Loose" (get it?), which is a blizzard of fast acoustic guitar strumming and overtones along with some hand percussion. It's pretty awesome.

Chris Darrow and I. Balz return for the next cue, "Salerno's Theme", a killer country-rock instrumental with steel guitar and wordless vocals.

After that comes a track with no actual composer credit, just "Performed by the Redwind Drummers". It's called "Hot Wax" and it's a kind of funky, jazzy, honkytonk sort of piece with piano and drums and electric guitar and amplified violin and organ. It fits nicely with "Powder Burn".

Then it's Richard Henn's turn again with "Park City Trilogy", sort of a mini-suite by mini-orchestra and the closest thing to dramatic underscore so far. There's a soaring and expanisve quality to it, with the flutes especially creating a feeling of flight.

The last two tracks on Side A are by Chris Darrow and I. Balz. "Snow Nose" is an interesting rock instrumental with violin as the lead instrument, giving it a tinge of country, I suppose, and balancing a lyrical melodicism with a hard driving rhythm section.

Then there's the lovely and languid "Hi Time", with swaying steel guitar, laidback drums and a wonderfully sultry and relaxed groove.

The second side opens with Richard Henn's "Snow Dance", a bright and chirpy synth and flute pop/rock instrumental.

Chris Darrow and I. Balz's "Bachs Lunch" (get it?) is actually a laidback country rock instrumental with solid drumming and nice violin and steel guitar playing. It's not some kind of "Fifth of Beethoven"-type riff on Bach, much to my surprise.

After that Richard Henn returns with "Aerial Symphony", a mini-symphony sort of piece with strings playing a melodic line over a heavy drum beat and, eventually, something that sounds like waves or wind.

"Weird Ballet" is by Chris Darrow and I. Balz and starts with a deep and intriguingly funky drum pattern, ably supported by bass and guitar. Harmonica takes the lead, followed by violin. This might be the richest and most satisfying track on the record.

Richard Henn follows this with "Powder Buff", another piece with strings and winds playing over a driving rhythm section, this time with a few echoes of the theme from Shaft.

Then the record wraps up with "Ballad of Snowshoe Thompson II", the banjo and harmoonica joined by drums, bass and steel guitar, quite a nice tune.

2022 December 16 • Friday

Kem Nunn's The Dogs of Winter is a novel with much to recommend it but doesn't quite ride the wave all the way to the end.

The first half or so is great, as Nunn gets the story moving and presents the reader with the characters and setting, all vividly drawn.

The basic premise is a washed-up surf photographer on a mission to photograph a legendary surfer making a comeback at an equally legendary secret surfing spot, a potentially life-changing assignment for all concerned.

With two much younger and outrageously immature hot-shot surfers in tow, they make the trek into a wild part of the US west coast, where tribes of Indians are in perpetual conflict over fishing rights and the recent murder of a young woman has an ominous significance for the older surfer's wife.

Nunn's writing is confident and impressive throughout, though it peaks early, in describing the first surfing episode. It's a brilliant scene and sets a standard too high for the rest of the book to match, let alone surpass.

The idea of surf noir is good enough for me, and Nunn had already nailed it in Tapping the Source. Here though, the balance isn't quite right and the end of the book in particular is too violent not to overwhelm the story, especially in its treatment of rape, all the more horrifying for eschewing explicit details in favor of an understated and indirect approach.

It was an absorbing read while it lasted, but it doesn't end up arriving somewhere that was worth the journey. Nunn is a really good writer, though, and we'll try another of his books further down the road.

The first line of The Dogs of Winter is "The first big swell came early that year, a gift before Christmas, wrapped in cloud".

2022 December 14 • Wednesday

Now this is a thriller!

I saw it in the window of Little Ghosts, a charming horror book store and coffeeshop in Toronto. I judged it by the cover and scooped it up immediately. It was actually a lot better than I expected it to be!

William Dantz's Hunger is a model of perfect entertainment. It wastes no time at all, zero, from first page to last.

The story gets going right away,a six identically cloned super sharks, bigger, smarter, more aggressive, REALLY HUNGRY, escape from a secret Department of Defense-funded enclosure off the Florida Keys.

And then we're all off and running. The sleazy Vernon Speke, leader of the secret shark experiments—the idea is to train them to defend submarine bases against enemy divers, like underwater attack dogs—scrambles to cover up this egregious lapse in security.

Of course these sharks have to be hunted down and destroyed before they hurt anyone! Uh, before they kill more people than they already have. Actually, you know, what about destroying, like, most of them but trying to capture one alive? Because these sharks are pretty awesome.

Then you've got married couple Tom and Sally who run a diving boat and make a modest living taking tourists out to reefs so they can dive around and see all the marine life and like that.

Sally is also busy working with these two dolphins, Lois and Clark, who were the failed subjects of an earlier Vernon Speke experiment. These dolphins have issues but Sally is tireless and patient and has extraordinary communication with Lois.

Tom is also having these panic attacky dreams about being trapped underwater in complete darkness, unable to move or breathe. Just thought I'd mention it.

You'll turn the pages as fast as you can. I even made popcorn to munch on while I read it.

No spoilers, this is just an excellent book, really fun.

Dantz is especially good at character voices, each one distinct, believable and vivid. This includes the sharks. They think of themselves as "the Us" and they communicate by singing to each other.

They learn about dangers and regard humans as unfish things.

What they're really into, however, is eating. Growth hormones cause them to keep increasing in size, with ever more demanding metabolisms.

They can sense fear and "fear is delicious".

There are some obvious similarities between this book and the movie Deep Blue Sea that came out a few years later. Well, they both have the idea of genetically engineered smart sharks who are into leaping out of the water unexpectedly. I wouldn't be surprised if this book was the "inspiration" for the movie. The story and characters are different enough that no credit or money would need to be given to the author of Hunger, though, which is a shame.

The first line is "The tide changes".

2022 December 12 • Monday

We haven't checked in with Lalo Schifrin in a while so the 756th Soundtrack of the Week will be his music for Nunzio.

Appropriately enough it starts with “(Hey, Nunzio!) Theme from Nunzio”, which kicks off with a Shaft-like feel (and has a few Shaftian flourishes throughout) and develops as disco with room for strings and electronic keyboards to stretch out.

The “Main Title” is a more acoustic track, with flute and strings as well as brushes on snare suggesting a situation with lively energy. Timpani and keyboards also contribute to the engaging sonic landscape.

Then it’s time for sweet, gentle love, with the solo piano piece “Nunzio in Love (Love Theme)”. It’s a nice love theme with some Bacharach-like elements.

Soaring strings then take us off to “Flying Love”, an airy and sweeping piece with long phrases and bright orchestral colors.

“Only a Memory” is another sweet and gentle solo piano piece, stirring and lyrical.

The energy gets sprightly and perky again for the short “No Tips for Nunzio”, which features the clarinet and has a similar musical setting as the main title.

Another solo piano piece, almost in a classical mood, comes next with “Night Music”, which isn’t too far away from Satie or Debussy territory.

Just in time comes a funk disco freak out for “Candy Store Frenzy”. This would be a great tune to have at a roller rink.

“Sad Nunzio” starts as a solo piano number but this time the emotions are enhanced by strings. It’s a very nice and lonely sort of piece.

Solo piano then takes the stage for “Goodnights My Little One”, a short and charming lilt of a cue with some affecting minor chords.

It’s a bit of a surprise to hear menace and tension and suspense at this point but that’s what happens next for “Nunzio in Danger”, a tantalizingly uneasy and perilous cue that’s fantastic dramatic underscore.

A similar feeling prevails in “To the Rescue”, in which you can detect some of Schifrin’s Mission: Impossible past.

Busy snare drums and strings kick off “Superspeed”, which also has some back and forth call and responses from brass and timpani. It’s a driving cue with some jagged edges and sustains a feeling of agitation until the very end.

The “End Title & End Cast” have a chipper and successful sound to them, even jolly and content, with flutes trading off with some humorous-sounding lower woodwinds and synthesizers, so maybe everything worked out!
2022 December 09 • Friday

Thanks to one of our internet friends, we have additions to our favorite headlines page!

First is this terrific LIMITED FARM BILL FAVORED from 1952's The Narrow Margin.

Also visible are old friends 3 NAMED TO FIX LIABILITY COSTS and BALLOT AWAITED TODAY AFTER AMENDMENTS.

(Possibly we need to add PATRIOTIC UNITS HERE TO JOIN IN DEFENSE MOVE and CITY AIDE NABBED AS TIPSY DRIVER, DENIES ACCIDENT to our watch list.)

Up next is another LIMITED FARM BILL FAVORED, this one from 1956's Giant.

NEW TAX BILL MAY BE NEEDED is the one that started it all for us, and here's a beautiful one from The Wings of Eagles (1957).


The Wings of Eagles (1957)

And of course the classics U.S. DEBT TALK SEEN AS BASIS FOR NEW PARLEY, BILL AIDS OWNER ON FORECLOSURE and PRIESTS BATTLE SEMINARY BLAZE; 8 FIREMEN HURT are along for the ride!

Last is this shot from 1949's The Reckless Moment, the first of two film adaptations Elizabeth Sanxay Holding's The Blank Wall (neither movie really got it quite right but both are good).

While neither NEW TAX BILL MAY BE NEEDED or LIMITED FARM BILL FAVORED can be seen, we do have those two stalwarts BALLOT AWAITED TODAY AFTER AMENDMENTS and STATE BUREAUS MUST PAY RENT IN NEW OFFICES.

Thank you so much, internet friend, for sending these along! I frequently choose to watch one movie instead of another simply because I hope to spot one of these headlines.

It's wonderful to have help. The more the merrier!

2022 December 07 • Wednesday

First of all…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And now it's time for some lesbian pulp fiction: Ann Bannon's Odd Girl Out.

Originally published in paperback by Gutbrain favorite Gold Medal, this was the first of four novels that, as far as I can tell, follow the lives and loves of characters introduced in Odd Girl Out.

The fourth in the series is called Beebo Brinker, after the name of the main character, and is apparently a prequel to the preceding three. It's perhaps for this reason that the series is known as the Beebo Brinker Chronicles.

So what about this first one? Well, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would like to read the others. Bannon has come up with interesting and sympathetic characters and leads them through some twists and turns so that the reader isn't likely to anticipate how the plot develops.

Some characters in particular start out appearing to be "good", then might present as villainous, only in the end to be revealed as complex and believably human.

The author was writing in an environment of considerable hostility to same-sex love and social attitudes toward this subject and to sex in general are exposed for their hypocrisy and destructive effects on everybody.

This is a 1950s college campus novel in a world where having divorced parents is reckoned to be an intensely shameful and debilitating condition and pre-marital sex is tolerated only if practiced in private.

As one of the main characters ruefully observes, "You can break the rules, but you can't get caught".

The main story involved first-year student Laura, who falls in love with older sorority sister Beth. Beth has had sex with several men but without much in the way of satisfaction or pleasure or romantic feeling. When she and Laura become lovers, it seems like the real thing.

Enter Charlie, whose father is an old friend of Laura's father. He and Laura go out on a date to please their parents but there's nothing between them. Charlie and Beth have an immediate, electric, powerful and irresistible connection and are soon unable to resist an unrestrained affair that is profoundly emotional as well as physcial.

And so begins a complicated love triangle, one in which Beth and Laura are compelled to keep their relationship a secret while coming up with excuses for the anger and sorrow they can't help but display.

There's also a parallel drama going on with their roommate Emily, who's deep into a love affair with a jazz-obsessed and irresponsible trombonist named Bud. Bud seems like he'll never commit, never grow up, but Emily has been giving it her all and appears to have won his heart.

I hope we find out what happens to Emily and Bud in later books. I know that Laura, Beth and Charlie will be back.

Bannon's introduction to this edition is a welcome addition. Her story sounds at least as interesting as the absorbing drama she created for these fictional lives.

The first line is "'Mmmm…' Beth murmured as Laura's hands began to trace the curves of her back".

2022 December 05 • Monday

Here it is December and that can mean only one thing: the 755th Soundtrack of the Week is Hired To Kill by Jerry Grant.

It starts with “Fanfare and Fireworks”, which combines lean and muscular action writing with subversive synth contributions that try to corrupt the military snare drums with promises of some slinky grooves.

This tension is also evident in the “Main Title”, with some of the musical activity somewhat reminiscent of Lalo Schifrin’s Mission: Impossible music. Harp, guitar and percussion are used sparingly but effectively.

The martial snare and pounding musical statements are back for “In Training”, though this time electric instruments play with them. It’s a tight, aggressive and high energy blast, occasionally relaxed for a moment.

Then we get some Middle Eastern exotica for “Istanbul”, with long tones, hand percussion, the expected modality and a bit of wordless vocals that might resemble a call to prayer. But it’s also got business to do, with more tense and suspenseful dramatic underscore soon taking over.

“Get in the Driver Seat” is a change of space with some massive drum sounds, percolating flute and even a bit of distorted electric guitar or keyboard.

There had to be a love theme, right? It comes next in “Katrina”, and is lovely, with nice acoustic guitar playing. But then it’s back to business with exciting percussion ostinati and great flute playing.

Loud and intense sonic explosions kick off “San Quentin” but the cue changes direction with some Spanish guitar playing and a rhythm background that sounds like cicadas in full force.

Next is a swinging ‘80s groove for “Catwalk Assassins”, at least for the first half of the cue. The second half is more straightforward suspense and action writing.

“Someone Who Knows” is a piece with a lot of space in it, once again with a compelling percussion foundation and lots of wooden flute (shakuhachi?) playing.

Soaring strings announce “Arrival in Cypra”, which soon takes a somewhat eerie turn with a few mysterious sounds and some pensive guitar work. Hand percussion kicks off a serious groove and then things get atmospheric and tense at the same time.

Solo cocktail lounge piano follows, presumably source music for “Dinner with Bartos”.

“Psychic Reader” is almost a miniature suite of micro cues and blends different sounds in great ways. There’s also a new element in there, perhaps vibes.

Lively hand percussion and guitar dig into some North African or Middle Eastern grooves for “Let’s Mingle”, after which timpani kick off “Open the Gates”, more tense and dramatic underscore with some whirling flutes and driving horn lines.

Restrained and tender solo acoustic guitar starts “Goodbye Sheila” but about halfway through other instruments come in and the melody is taken over by wailing electric guitar.

A more low key approach to tension and suspense follows for “Ryan Uncovered”, another one with Schifrin-like moments.

There’s lots of percussion as well as other instruments playing percussively in the tough and angular “Break-in”.

Strings fill most of the space in “My Life or the Revolution” but there are significant contributions from synths and acoustic guitar.

“The Escape” uses a lot of orchestral force and rapidly fires numerous powerful music ideas at the listener. Just when you get used to it, it changes.

The intensity and invention continue unabated for “Final Battle” and “Helicopter Fight”, after which the score concludes with the triumphant “Victory”, which might even quote “Joy to the World”. It sounded like it to me, anyway!
2022 December 02 • Friday

There's no denying how striking this car is. I want one! This is the cover of Car Craft and Kart magazine, March 1962.

It made me think of the Batmobile from the Adam West tv show, but the Forcasta was made by Darryl Starbird while the Batmobile was by George Barris, who has his own column, "Custom Queries", in this magazine.

I've occasionally seen some old movies in which people had record players in their cars, right in the dashboard, much as CD players would be a few decades later.

It was never clear to me how real this was, or how practical.

The practicality of it is likely to remain a mystery for a while longer, but this issue of Car Craft and Kart tells you how to install your own record player in your car.

I don't own a car but those of you who do, get to work!